Succeeding at Santa Anita takes work, a lot of luck, being in the right spot at the right time and of course, having the right horse.
Let’s start right there with the ‘horse for the course’ angle about runners that have shown an affinity for Santa Anita. What a View certainly fits that bill. The grass performer has raced fifteen times and has won six of them. Five of the six wins came on the Santa Anita grass. Trained by Kenny Black, who back in the day was an extremely talented rider, What a View set suicide splits in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in November and paid the price. He stopped on a dime and also tired in his next race. What a View won four times during stand last winter proving he knows what it is about when talking about succeeding at Santa Anita. He has trained forwardly since his last race and is a must use the next time he shows in the entries.
National Basketball Association fans have a vehicle when Kobe’s Back returns to the races. The multiple Grade 2 winner, who won the San Carlos at Santa Anita last year, broke slowly in his last couple of races and has been freshened. Trained by Pete Eurton, who has had a sensational 2016, put a nice blowout into Kobe’s Back on December 15 and look for this runner to return in a seven-furlong sprint for quality runners.
Bob Baffert has put his touch on Danzing Candy giving him every chance to continue succeeding at Santa Anita this meeting. All three of his career wins have come at the Arcadia track and he posted a 100 Beyer Speed Figure taking the San Felipe Stakes last winter. He has not been seen since running second in the Grade 3 Affirmed in July but Baffert has put him through his motions. He has been legged up at Los Alamitos and figures to try to steal a race the next time he appears in the afternoon.
These are just a few of the equine monsters primed to perform but their mentors are also imperative when succeeding at Santa Anita.
It almost goes without saying that conditioners like Bob Baffert, Doug O’Neill, Jerry Hollendorfer and Pete Miller will win their share of races this winter. Gamblers can also look to the leader in the clubhouse last year.
Phil D’Amato, who was an assistant to the legendary trainer Mike Mitchell, had a breakout year last season at Santa Anita. His students won 41 times and his runners popped at a 24%-win clip. A total of 55% of his runners ran in the money, which goes to show he was sending out live horses every single time.
Bettors have to look under rocks sometimes to find the hidden jewel that can turn a huge profit. That can mean to look to trainers that don’t get all the notoriety.
Enter Jeff Mullins. This is a hard-working professional that struggled early in his career at lesser known outposts like Turf Paradise. He has had run-ins with some of the powers that be that questioned his success but he is a master at reading the condition book and putting his horses where they belong. When succeeding at Santa Anita last winter, he sent out 37 horses. A total of 19 ran in the exacta and 10 of those won. He won at 27% and 62% of those runners ran in the money.
Other less fashionable barns that must be respected include Cliff Sise (24% winners), Karen Headley (27%) and Ron Ellis (25%).
When the horses have been coddled and the trainers have done their jobs, it is now up to the jockey to make succeeding at Santa Anita a reality.
Rafael Bejarano will be back to defend his title and barring injury, he will likely do just that. Flavien Prat has gained not only personal confidence but confidence of a number of horsemen and that should put him in a position to ride a ton of winners this meeting.
With Gary Stevens now gone with hip surgery, the jockey colony will be open for some changes. Santiago Gonzalez, Tyler Baze, Joe Talamo and Kent Desormeaux will win their share but there are a couple of up and coming riders that need to be followed.
Norberto Arroyo Jr. is one of those riders. He has been a popular ‘go to’ pilot for some potent barns and should offer value to bettors. Players can also not fall asleep on Drayden Van Dyke. He was a popular rider when he was an apprentice and it’s not easy to make the transition to a journeyman. Van Dyke proved he has made that transition and he seems to have a knack with runners on grass.
Be on the lookout for these horses, trainers and riders and have a great Santa Anita meeting.
Succeeding at Santa Anita Takes Work
